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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22639333">I'll be your mirror</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/oklahomieeee/pseuds/oklahomieeee'>oklahomieeee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Florida [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Midnight Cowboy (1969)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Florida, Fluff, M/M, Post-Movie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:21:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22639333</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/oklahomieeee/pseuds/oklahomieeee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation from where the "I won't let you leave my love behind" fic left off. </p>
<p>After mowing a lawn, Joe Buck runs home to Rico Rizzo with a present under his arm.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe Buck/Rico "Ratso" Rizzo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Florida [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1628527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'll be your mirror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi!</p>
<p>If you read my last fic, thank you so much! If you left a comment, gave kudos and/or bookmarked the fic, thank you very much! I'm happy you liked the fic!</p>
<p>This takes place a couple of months from where the previous fic left off, so, I think it makes more sense if you read the first fic if you haven't, but it does not really matter! I was very unsure if I should just make this a chapter on "I won't" or make this a new fic (a series in other words) but I have decided to upload this as a new fic because the other fic functions so well as its own thing and this can function as its own thing as well. Also, this might sound silly, but I think it would be dumb of me to upload this as a chapter in the case of people having read the first one and then not liking this one :).</p>
<p>Title taken from The Velvet Underground's 'I'll be your mirror.' Give it a listen if you haven't heard it because it is very soft!</p>
<p>Again, English is not my first language, so beware, you will find some mistakes! I apologize for those. Lastly, thank you for taking the time to read this fic and I hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ma’am!” Joe greeted Mrs. Collins (“Call me Caroline, please. Mrs. makes me sound old, don’t cha think?”) when she stepped out on the porch undressed for her sunbathing. Joe had learned fairly early that she loved the sun, specially when he was out working in their garden.</p>
<p>“Lemonade, Joe?” she asked, but her voice was lost in the questionable sounds coming from the old lawn mower. “It's so hot outside, I thought it could help you cool down.”</p>
<p>He killed the mower and wiped sweat from his face with the t-shirt he had to take off hours earlier. It truly was a killer heat, he thought, which reminded him of Rico who had been muttering about needing a fan since he’d been released from the hospital.</p>
<p>“What was that, ma’am?!” he asked apologetically, hung the shirt on the lawn mower and walked over to her, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hands. She looked down at him through her dark sunglasses, only in her regular pink bikini and pink bathrobe.</p>
<p>“I said,” she begun, “that I got you some lemonade.” She leaned forward on the railing and sent down the glass. “If it had been me, you wouldn’t be working at all today.” Mrs. Collins said watching him with interest. “But my husband just gets so irritable when it doesn’t get trimmed.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, finished the drink quickly and handed the empty glass back.</p>
<p>“Caroline,” she said and stayed in her place looking down at the glass in her hands. “Where are you from, cowboy?” she asked when Joe was already deciding on returning to his work.</p>
<p>“New York.”</p>
<p>“You don’t sound like you’re from New York.”</p>
<p>“Why do you say that, ma’am?” he replied amused but he felt like going back to mowing the lawn. It was already getting late and if he was going to reach the store in time he had to be finished in an hour or so. </p>
<p>“Too polite,” she joked and showed him an honest smile. Lazily she took off her robe and threw it at the railing, leaving her only in her bikini, and Joe would be lying if he said she wasn’t one attractive lady, and if it had been any other day he’d be happy to listen to her talk about whatever was on her mind because she did have a lot on her mind, or so she had said a coupla times. She licked her lips and continued: “Are you lonesome, Joe?”</p>
<p>“Uh, well, I - not anymore,” Joe said feeling confused.</p>
<p>“Oh,” she giggled and pushed a blond strand of hair behind her ear. “You must think me foolish- the girls must just love you.”</p>
<p>“They sure do,” he said confidently and held back the urge to show off. “But I don’t have much time for that these days.”</p>
<p>Mrs. Collins hummed humorously. “You have nobody at home and you work all day but you’re not lonesome.” </p>
<p>“Never said I didn’t have nobody at home, ma’am, never did,” he said and ran a hand through his newly cut hair. Rico had cut it earlier that week because he thought long hair didn’t fit him, not that it had been <em> that </em> long either, and besides he looked good with some length to his hair, hell yeah, he did, and it was getting popular to keep it long, or at least, he’d seen some fellas with long hair. (“Some, don’t mean it’s popular, Joe.” “Well, it ain’t a dumb look, I tell ya that.” “Have it your way! From now on I’m no longer cutting your hair. When you get your hair stuck in the mower don’t come crying to me.” “Come on now.”). “And, I’m sorry ma’am but I gotta get working again.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” she said, “sorry.”</p>
<p>“No need to apologize, ma’am.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Carrying a cardboard box under one arm, Joe was hurrying home, feeling more giddy than in forever, maybe since his birthday when Rico had bought them tickets to that new John Wayne movie. Had it been a good movie? He didn’t really remember, but what he did remember was Rico falling asleep halfway through the most exciting part. His head had been resting against Joe’s shoulder and Joe being the gentleman he is put an arm behind his friend, making them both more comfortable, and there in the dark they sat together and the images flickering on screen didn’t really matter. Hell, John Wayne didn’t matter. Nobody else in that theater mattered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door was open when he got home. Their tiny apartment was on the ground floor of a small apartment building fit no more than eight residents. It looked nice on the outside. There was a small front garden with all kinds of colors which the old landlady took care of. Perhaps the best part of their home, what him and Rico agreed on, was the view from their living room (plus kitchen, plus bedroom). No houses, just a couple of tall trees and if they squinted they could see the sea. The worst part, which Rico had reacted to when he’d first stepped into the house (by the help of Joe’s arm) was the pink walls (“Now they for sure’ll think it, Joe.” “Let them think, I think it’s nice”). </p>
<p>“I’m home,” Joe said when he looked into the dark apartment. Boy, it was warm in there even though all the windows were open. </p>
<p>He put the box on a chair by the dinner table. It was set for two, and he noted a pot on the stove which had been turned off.</p>
<p>“Hey, Rico,” he said and peaked over the back of the couch and there he was sweaty as if he’d been sick with fever, but he wasn’t. “Ain’t you a sight.”</p>
<p>It didn’t seem like he’d moved since Joe had left early that morning. He was lying on white sheets, dressed- or rather, undressed, but he for sure had moved considering the paper was covering his chest and dinner was ready.</p>
<p>“I’m dying, Joe,” Rico said, his voice sounding raspy. </p>
<p>“Don’t joke about that,” Joe muttered and took the paper with some protest. “Now, I got something to show you!”</p>
<p>This peaked his friend’s interest, who looked up at him with pretty eyes. </p>
<p>“And I think it’ll be a life saver, I sure do,” he said smiling broadly. </p>
<p>“Hey! I can’t but you can? I’m the one who’s been dying all my life!" </p>
<p>“Well, I don’t like hearing about it, now, you want to see it or not?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah, I want to see it,” Rico said and sat up. Without slicking back his hair he looked like a rat that’d been through a hair dryer. The man hadn’t even shaved. “What you staring at for fella? Aren’t you gonna show it to me?”</p>
<p>“I’m gonna show it. I’m gonna show it,” Joe repeated feeling slightly embarrassed for getting caught. He found the package. “Now this is gonna make your year, boy!” he said when he turned to Rico who looked suspicious at his present. “What you looking like that for? You don’t even know what is yet.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what it is yet,” he said and licked his lips. “You got that for me?”</p>
<p>“Of course I got it for you,” Joe said, “Ain’t got nobody else.” </p>
<p>“You dumb cowboy,” Rico said and took the box in hand, “Why you buying me presents for?” His voice shook a little but it seemed to be half a laughter in some kinda disbelief. “Why you wasting money on me for?”</p>
<p>“I ain’t wasting no money, and it ain’t no birthday present either, so you know.” The sentence cost him an unreadable look from Rico. “Cost me just enough.”</p>
<p>“Just enough,” Rico said with an afterthought of mockery, looking at the box. It hadn’t been taped shut thanks to Joe’s request and they’d fixed it at the store so they wouldn’t have to bother putting the gift together either.</p>
<p>“Lady at the store said it’s an Emerson something,” Joe said in a low tone watching his friend pull a blue fan out of the box. “I trim her lawn so she gave it to us relatively cheap. Now ain’t it something? Don’t you like it, boy?”</p>
<p>“I like it, Joe,” Rico said studying the thing in his hands, “I like it, but why did you buy it for?”</p>
<p>Joe shook his head, “What did I buy it for? Shee-it, and you been telling me I’m dumb.”</p>
<p>“You calling me dumb now?”</p>
<p>“I ain’t calling you shee-it, it’s a life saver, I told you. It’ll cool you down, now let me plug it in for you,” he continued and wandered over to the other side of their couch (slash bed). “We used to have one back home, my grandma, Sally Buck-.”</p>
<p>“I know who she is.”</p>
<p>“I know, now, my grandma, she used to leave me watching tv with one of these on in the living room, now, it kept me cool and kept me from drying up, so you just be thanking this here fan here for without one of these we wouldn’t be here.” He plugged it in by the empty tv shelf. “Now you just push the button, and then we eat because I’m starving.”</p>
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